Abstract
Current problem facing researchers globally is microplastics as well as toxic chemical pollution of the ecosystem. Microplastics carry toxic chemicals in the ecosystem serving as a vector for transport. In this study, a review of the literature has been conducted with the following objectives: (1) to summarize the concentrations of toxic chemicals such heavy metals and hydrophobic organic contaminants sorped on microplastics; (2) to evaluate their spatial distribution regarding adsorbed contaminant; (3) to discuss plausible mechanism by which microplastics adsorp or desorp toxic chemicals in the environment; (4) to discuss implications of their occurrence in air, water and soil media; and (5) to discuss the impact of ingested microplastics to human health. Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental contaminant. Concentrations of sorped toxic chemical varied by location which represents a local problem; industrialized areas (especially areas experiencing crude oil-related activities or have history of crude oil pollution) have higher concentrations than less industrialized areas. Ingestion of microplastics has been demonstrated in a range of marine and soil organisms as well as edible plants, thus possibly contaminating the base of the food web. Potential health effect to human is by particle localization, chemical toxicity and microbial toxins. We conclude by highlighting the gap in knowledge and suggesting key future areas of research for scientists and policymakers.
Highlights
Worldwide population continues to experience annual growth at an average rate of 1.68% between the years 1955 and 2015
Research is needed to understand/know the sources of toxic chemicals found on microplastics, whether they came from additives or from ambient environment during particle exposure or they came from the two means working synergistically
Following the high estimate (1000–15,000 metric tons) of microbial biomass reported to be associated with global plastic debris presented in a study by Mincer and his colleagues in 2016, it became more obvious that biofim may be playing a crucial role in toxic chemical transports by microplastics [112], and studies on microplastics serving as a vector for toxic chemicals in aquatic habitats should include biofilm as variable [133]
Summary
Worldwide population continues to experience annual growth at an average rate of 1.68% between the years 1955 and 2015. One of the primary environmental risks associated with microplastics is that they are ubiquitous and bioavailable for injection by marine organisms [26, 184], soil organisms [78, 89, 92, 201, 202] and plant growing on microplastic polluted soils [39, 40] Studies have reported their presence in sea animals such as seabirds, fish, sandhoppers, sea turtle, crustacean and mussel [12, 21, 45, 118, 162], soil invertebrates such as collembolan, oligochaeta (e.g. earthworms) and isopods [78, 89, 92, 201, 202] and in plants such as wheat plants [95]. We presented a review of toxic chemicals (halogens, heavy metals and organic pollutants) concentrations on reported on microplastics found in the environment and animal, and provide their possible adsorption and desorption (release) mechanism and the implications of their interaction to man and his environment
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